Ensaladilla Rusa (Spanish Potato Salad) with Tuna and Roasted Peppers
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats and NYT Cooking.
A creamy Spanish potato salad studded with tuna, peas, carrot and egg, finished with roasted peppers and olives.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Cook the vegetables. Put the whole potatoes and carrots into the large pot, cover with cold water, add the salt, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes until a knife slides easily into the potatoes. Lift them out and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Starting the vegetables in cold water lets them cook through evenly, right to the centre, without the outsides turning mushy.
- 2
Blanch the peas. While the potatoes cool, drop the peas into the same still-boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and leave them to cool. Cooking them briefly in the same pot saves on washing up and keeps their colour and sweetness intact.
- 3
Dice everything. Rub the skins off the cooled potatoes using the tea towel, then cut the potatoes and carrots into small, even 1cm cubes. Even-sized pieces mean every spoonful has a bit of potato, carrot and egg in the same bite.
- 4
Mix the salad. In a large bowl, gently fold together the diced potatoes and carrots, peas, chopped eggs, flaked tuna, 180g of the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. A little of the potato breaking down as you fold is normal and actually helps give the salad its creamy texture. Taste before adding any extra salt, since the tuna and mayonnaise both carry a fair amount already. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
- 5
Serve. Mound the salad onto a serving plate and smooth the remaining 40g of mayonnaise over the top like an even layer of icing. Finish with the roasted pepper strips, sliced egg and olives arranged over the surface. Serve chilled, straight from the fridge, for the best texture.
Storage
Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. This isn't suitable for freezing, as the mayonnaise will separate and the vegetables will turn watery once thawed. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Source of protein: 3.3 g protein per 100 kcal, about 13% of energy (needs ≥ 12%)
- Low sugars: 2.3 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 209 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0.3 g per serving
0.6 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 1.2 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large pot
- slotted spoon
- sieve
- clean tea towel
- large bowl
- rubber spatula
- serving plate
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 509 kcal |
| Protein | 16.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 34.6 g |
| of which sugars | 4.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 0.3 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| of which saturates | 5.9 g |
| Fibre | 5.7 g |
| Salt | 1.91 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.3 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
